30-Second Reviews: Beth Orton, No Doubt, "Homeland" and More

On the Page

Lost Everything By Brian Francis Slattery (Tor Books)In summary: A hundred years or so in the future, America has succumbed to the inevitable entropy of a weakened civic life, a weakened ecosystem and the subsequent slow slide into civil war. All that is just background for the story of a man journeying up Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna River to recover his lost son.Akin to: The Road x Huck Finn as written by Faulkner.Author fun fact: This is Slattery’s third wildly divergent take on an American apocalypse, following the gonzo Spaceman Blues and the loopy crime fable Liberation. (Stephen H. Segal)

On the Menu

Federal Donuts 1632 Sansom St. federaldonuts.comHere’s the dish: South Philly’s glorious doughnuts-and-fried-chicken joint opens a second location in Center City.Description: “Fancy” baked doughnuts are like unto small toroidal dessert cakes, boasting flavors like mint chocolate cookie and maple bacon. “Hot” doughnuts are lighter, fried and sprinkled liberally with sugars and such. Try vanilla spice or strawberry fennel.Yum or yuck? Yum. The butter pecan has to be tasted to be believed. (S.H.S.)

Green Eggs Cafe 212 S. 13th St. (with two other locations)Here’s the dish: Red Velvet PancakesDescription: Imagine a whoopee pie, the hard-to-label treat (is it a cookie? is it a pie?) that features creamy filling betwixt two round pieces of chocolate cake. They’re good, right? Now, imagine that whoopie pie as three (!) buttermilk pancakes, with a sprinkling of chocolate chips throughout a beautifully red, moist, fluffy batter. And they’re filled with not just any old cream, but strawberry mascarpone. It’s all topped with fresh strawberries, maple syrup and chantilly cream.Yum or yuck? Yuuuuum. Just because something is big enough to share—the pancakes are made into 7-inch squares—doesn’t mean it should be. Get your own, dammit! (Nina Hoffmann)